About The BSR Conference 2017
The Leading Event for Collaboration and Action on Sustainable Business
The BSR Conference is one of the most important annual gatherings dedicated to finding solutions to our most pressing global challenges. Every year, nearly 1,000 sustainable business experts from Fortune 500 companies, as well as leading foundations, nonprofit organizations, and government, gather for unparalleled networking experiences, powerful plenary addresses and breakout sessions, and interactive professional development opportunities.
Join us this October to be a part of innovative solutions to the world’s biggest sustainability challenges.
BSR Conference 2017 Theme
How Business Leads
It’s BSR’s 25th anniversary year, and profound change is shaping sustainable business.
Be Inspired
Spotlight on Speakers
Neal Keny-Guyer
Chief Executive Officer, Mercy Corps
Since 1994, Neal Keny-Guyer has served as chief executive officer of the global humanitarian organization Mercy Corps. Under his leadership, Mercy Corps has grown into one of the most respected international relief and development agencies in the world, with ongoing operations in more than 40 countries, a staff of nearly 5,000, and global revenue of roughly US$450 million. Fast Company ranked Mercy Corps one of the most innovative social-change organizations in the world and New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof calls Mercy Corps “a first-rate aid group.” A former trustee of the Yale Corporation, Keny-Guyer remains very involved with the University, serving on the Yale President’s Council on International Affairs and the Board of Advisors of the Yale School of Management. He is chairman of the board of InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based international NGOs; a member of the Council on Foreign Relations; and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the Humanitarian System.
Al Gore
Former U.S. Vice President, Chairman, Generation Investment Management
Former Vice President Al Gore is a co-founder and chairman of Generation Investment Management. He is a senior partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and a member of Apple, Inc.’s board of directors. Gore is also chairman of The Climate Reality Project, a nonprofit organization devoted to solving the climate crisis. Gore was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976, 1978, 1980, and 1982 and to the U.S. Senate in 1984 and 1990. He was inaugurated as the 45th vice president of the United States on January 20, 1993, and he served eight years. He is the author of the best-sellers Earth in the Balance, An Inconvenient Truth, The Assault on Reason, Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis, and, most recently, The Future: Six Drivers of Global Change. He is the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, and a new film premiering in July 2017, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power. Gore is the co-recipient, with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, for “informing the world of the dangers posed by climate change.”
Dakota Gruener
Executive Director, ID2020
Dakota Gruener is the Executive Director of ID2020, a public-private partnership working to ensure that everyone on the planet has access to a digital identity. As executive director, she leads overall strategy, builds critical partnerships with public- and private-sector stakeholders, and continually focuses the organization on reaching “the last girl.” Dakota comes to ID2020 from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), where she served as an Executive Officer working directly with the CEO. Gavi is an innovative global public-private partnership that acts as the central coordinating body for childhood vaccinations in the developing world, and which reaches nearly 60 percent of the world’s children with life-saving vaccines.
Michael Kobori
Vice President, Sustainability, Levi Strauss & Co.
Michael Kobori has led sustainability at Levi Strauss & Co. since 2001. In this role, he is responsible for the company’s sustainability vision and strategy across all business functions. Under Kobori’s tenure, Levi Strauss & Co. has been an industry leader in sustainability, pioneering initiatives such as the rollout of Water Less production techniques, reducing water use by more than 2 billion liters to date; growth of Better Cotton to 21 percent of all the company’s cotton usage; development of a hazard-based Screened Chemistry Framework; expansion of Worker Well-Being programs to more than 100,000 workers; and inclusion of Care for the Planet™ labels on all products. Previously, Kobori was a vice president at BSR and spent nearly 10 years at The Asia Foundation.
Why Attend
Connect with Global Business Leaders
Join an influential community of changemakers at more than 20 networking events over three days.
“A great group of people attend this conference—exactly the kind of people I want to meet and talk with … Definitely worth the time, effort, and money.”
Why Attend
Never Stop Learning
Get unrivaled access to more than 30 candid discussions offering practical solutions to build a better future.
“The quality of the content and the networking opportunities are the best I've seen in this field.”
Why Attend
Redefine Sustainable Business
A new approach and a new voice to build a better future.
“You are the sustainability conference. I always feel challenged and inspired.”